Issues

This campaign is about real problems facing real families — and real plans to fix them. From healthcare and infrastructure to education, broadband, and jobs, Lindsay Garcia is running on a platform built to move the 5th District forward.

Defending Constitution / Impeach Remove Imprison Repeat

The Constitution is not a suggestion, it is the foundation of our democracy. It protects our freedoms, guarantees our rights, and ensures that no one, not even the president, is above the law.

Today, those principles are being tested.

Across the country, we are seeing a dangerous pattern: the erosion of constitutional norms, the expansion of unchecked executive power, and repeated attempts to sidestep the rule of law. Legal experts, civil rights organizations, and courts alike have raised alarms that recent actions have pushed the limits of presidential authority in ways that threaten the balance of power our founders fought to establish.

What's at Stake

Our Constitution guarantees fundamental rights, and we must be willing to defend them:

Freedom of Speech (First Amendment)

Courts have found that government officials pressured private companies to suppress lawful speech, violating core First Amendment protections.

Voting Rights & Democracy

Efforts to collect or use voter data in ways that could lead to wrongful purges raise serious concerns about disenfranchisement and equal protection under the law.

Equal Protection & Civil Rights

The rollback of long-standing anti-discrimination protections risks allowing systemic bias to go unchecked in housing, lending, and employment.

Due Process & Human Rights

Reports of mass detentions, aggressive immigration enforcement, and policies impacting vulnerable communities have raised alarms about violations of basic constitutional and human rights protections.

Separation of Powers

A flood of executive actions and legal theories claiming broad presidential authority has challenges Congress's role and triggered dozens of court battles nationwide.

A Pattern We Cannot Ignore

This isn't about partisan politics. It's about whether we remain a nation governed by laws or by unchecked power.

Organizations like the ACLU and Human Rights Watch have documented what they describe as a sustained effort to weakened democratic institutions, undermine accountability, and dismantle long-standing protections for civil liberties.

Courts across the country have repeated stepped in to block or question actions that appear to conflict with the Constitution, highlighting just how critical our system of checks and balances remains.

Where Rubia Stands

Lindsay "Rubia" Garcia believes defending the Constitution isn't optional-- it's literally the job.

She will:

Protect the rule of law and ensure no president is above it
Defend civil liberties -- including free speech voting rights, and equal protection
Restore checks and balances by strengthening congressional oversight
Stand up to abuses of power, no matter who is in office
Fight for transparency and accountability in government.

The Bottom Line

The Constitution only works if we are willing to defend it.

In this moment, that means speaking out against overreach, standing up for our rights, and electing leaders who understand that their oath is to the Constitution, not to any one person or party.

Affordability & Economic Opportunity

Many of our parishes have been systematically locked out of opportunity for generations. And the result is what we see today: families working harder than ever, with less to show for it.

We are in the middle of a nationwide affordability crisis, but here in our district, it hits harder. For too many of our neighbors, rising costs aren't just frustrating - they're devastating. Housing, groceries and gas prices keep climbing, while wages stay the same. In a district where nearly one in five people lives in poverty-- and in places like East Carroll Parish, more than one in three -- that gap in unsustainable.

Lindsay "Rubia" Garcia believes in raising the federal minimum wage so that no full-time worker is living in poverty. It also means putting money back in people's pockets -- by returning costs Louisianians have already paid through unfair and unconstitutional tariffs directly to the American people rather than billion dollar companies.

But we cannot stop at short-term relief. We need long[term solutions that build real, lasting prosperity in our communities.

People are leaving the 5th District. The population declined from 775,000 to 770,000 in a single
year. Employment dropped. And the families who stay earn a median household income that’s
$27,000 below the national average.

Rubia will fight to bring investment into the parishes that have been left behind-- by expanding access to capital through SBA and Community Development Financial Institutions and by championing economic opportunity zones that actually serve local residents. She will work to attract and grow industries that create good-paying jobs right here at home-- from clean energy manufacturing and agriculture to technology and logistics.

“Jobs That Stay. Wages That Work.”

50K

median income vs. $77k national average.

23.4%

Poverty rate

Broadband & Digital Equity

In 2026, the internet isn’t optional. It’s how students do homework. It’s how patients see doctors
through telehealth. It’s how small businesses reach customers. It’s how veterans access
benefits. And across rural Louisiana, too many families are still disconnected.

Less than 60% of Louisiana households earning under $20,000 have broadband access. In
rural southern congressional districts like LA-05, that figure drops to 40–50%. The digital divide isn’t just an
inconvenience—it’s a civil rights issue, an economic development issue, and a healthcare
access issue all rolled into one.

Lindsay Garcia will fight to accelerate the deployment of BEAD program funding, mandate that
providers offer affordable low-cost tiers in underserved areas, invest in digital literacy programs
for seniors and returning citizens, and ensure that every school, library, and community center
in the 5th District has high-speed connectivity.

“Connect Every Home. Close the Digital Divide.”

71%

percentage of Seniors connected

29%

Below poverty rate

Healthcare

Across rural Louisiana, hospitals are closing—and communities are dying with them. When a
hospital shuts its doors, it doesn’t just mean longer drives for care. It means businesses won’t
relocate. Young families won’t move in. Emergency response times double. The community’s
future is decided not by its people but by a budget spreadsheet in Washington.

Louisiana is the only state in the Deep South that had the courage to expand Medicaid. That
decision protected more than 1.5 million Louisianians.

But proposed federal cuts of $1.1 trillion to Medicaid threaten to erase that protection—and 33 rural hospitals in our state are already flagged as financially vulnerable.

Lindsay Garcia will go to Washington to defend Medicaid expansion, fight for rural hospital
stabilization funding, expand telehealth infrastructure so that a patient in Ferriday has the same
access to a specialist as a patient in Baton Rouge, and create incentive programs to recruit
doctors, nurses, and mental health providers to the communities that need them most.

“Keep Our Hospitals Open. Keep Our Families Alive.”

33

hospitals at risk

46%

at negative margins

1in 3

Louisianians on Medicaid

9

hospitals facing closure in 2–3 years

60%

of Health Professional
Shortage Areas are rural

Infrastructure

You shouldn’t have to dodge potholes on the way to work. You shouldn’t have to worry about
whether the water from your tap is safe. You shouldn’t have to detour for months because a
bridge got shut down. These are the basics—and Louisiana isn’t getting them done.
The American Society of Civil Engineers gave our roads a D and our bridges a D+ in 2025.
More than 11% of Louisiana’s bridges are in poor condition—nearly double the national
average. Our state faces a $24 billion road maintenance backlog and a $9 billion+ bridge
funding gap. Most of our drinking water systems were built before 1960 and are only addressed
after something fails.

The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act sent $5.9 billion to Louisiana for roads and
bridges—but that law expires in 2026. Without renewal, progress stops and the backlog grows.
Lindsay Garcia will fight in Congress for reauthorization and expansion of infrastructure
investment, with an emphasis on rural communities that have been left behind for decades.

“Roads, Water, Bridges: The Basics Aren’t Negotiable.”

C-

Overall grade

D

for Roads

D+

for Bridges

24B

Road backlog

$9B+

Bridge gap

14th

Highest motor vehicle fatality rate

Environmental Justice & Carbon Capture

Louisiana has always been an energy leader-- and we have an opportunity to lead again. But leadership means doing things the right way.

Carbon capture technology has the potential to create jobs and strengthen our economy, especially in regions that have long depended on energy production. But right now, the pace of expansion is outpacing the protections our communities deserve. In just one year, proposed carbon capture and sequestration projects in Louisiana surged dramatically--raising serious concerns for landowners, families, and local leaders across the state.

People are right to ask questions. Who benefits? Who is protected? And who gets a say?

Lindsay “Rubia” Garcia believes innovation should never come at the expense of our communities. Landowners deserve transparency. Families deserve to feel safe. And local communities deserve a real, binding voice in decisions that impact their land, water, and future.

No project should move forward without meaningful community input. State officials should continue overseeing the technical permitting process, but that process must include mandatory public hearings and real parish-level consent. If a community says no, that decision must be respected.

Because we’ve already seen what happens when oversight falls short. Just across the border in Mississippi, a carbon dioxide pipeline rupture in Satartia sent nearly 45 people to the hospital. That cannot happen here.

Rubia supports carbon capture in principle and as part of a broader energy strategy—but not as a catch-all solution. It may play a role in reducing emissions from heavy industry, but it cannot replace the urgent need to invest in clean, renewable energy. Louisiana’s future depends on building a diversified energy economy that prioritizes both jobs and long-term sustainability.

And if taxpayer dollars are going to support these projects, there must be accountability. Federal incentives like the 45Q tax credit should come with strict, enforceable standards—real emissions reductions, independent safety monitoring, full environmental transparency, and strong protections for landowners and drinking water. Companies should meet clear performance benchmarks, prepare for emergencies, and deliver real benefits to the communities where they operate.

Under no circumstances should landowners lose their lands!

Louisiana can lead in the next generation of energy—but only if we do it responsibly. That means protecting our people, respecting our communities, and building a future that is both economically strong and environmentally safe.

Education and Workforce

Louisiana’s students are making progress. The state moved from 46th to 42nd nationally on the
Nation’s Report Card and ranked 4th in a demographically adjusted national study. That
momentum is fragile.

More than 2,520 teacher positions remain unfilled statewide. Nine percent of Louisiana’s
teachers are uncertified—the 5th highest rate in the country. Sixteen percent are within their first
two years of teaching, reflecting a revolving door that destabilizes schools and shortchanges
students. Nationally, teacher salaries have fallen 6.1% in real terms over the last two decades.
Lindsay Garcia believes that every child in the 5th District deserves a qualified, supported, and
fairly compensated teacher. She will fight for federal investment in teacher recruitment, student
loan forgiveness for educators in high-need districts, robust early childhood education funding, and workforce training programs that connect community colleges with local employers to
create career pathways that keep graduates in Louisiana.